Thurso nightclub assault: Halkirk man avoids jail
A Halkirk man who attacked a nightclub dancer avoided a prison term when he appeared at Wick Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
Darryn Sutherland (36), who inflicted an eye injury on Ben Morrison, was instead ordered to carry out unpaid community work.
He previously pleaded guilty to a reduced indictment of assault. The incident occurred at Skinandi’s nightclub in Thurso on September 3, last year.
The assault occurred after Mr Morrison bumped into Sutherland on the dance floor and “words were exchanged.” Mr Morrison and his partner continued dancing and a short time later Sutherland approached, asking Mr Morrison to “clarify aspects” of the exchanges.
Fiscal depute Grant McLennan continued: “Sutherland then seized Mr Morrison by the neck and clothing, causing him to fall to the floor. The accused released his grip on Mr Morrison and adopted a crouching position above him, as he lay on his back on the floor, and punched him in the face.”
Nightclub stewards escorted Sutherland from the premises.
Sheriff Neil Wilson was told that, later in the morning, Mr Morrison complained of “an intense pain” and was taken to Caithness General Hospital with a swollen right eye. A CT scan revealed a fracture and Mr Morrison was discharged but his injury was subsequently reviewed by a specialist at a trauma clinic in Aberdeen.
Mr McLennan said: “At the time, Mr Morrison was found to have no restrictions on his eye movement. He was discharged with no follow-up appointment and later reported to the police that his injuries had healed on their own.”
When cautioned and charged, Sutherland, of Airly, Sordale, Halkirk, stated that the incident had arisen a result of remarks made to him by Mr Morrison immediately before the assault.
George Mathers said that both men had been drinking and alcohol had affected Sutherland’s judgement, although he fully accepted responsibility for his actions.
The solicitor said that after Mr Morrison bumped into Sutherland, the accused “foolishly” approached him.
Mr Mathers continued: “Mr Morrison said something which annoyed my client who punched him in the face. Neither of the two men realised the extent of the injury inflicted. The CT scan revealed a minimal displaced bone fracture which was left to heal on its own. The injury was perhaps at the lower end of the assault scale.”
Mr Mathers said that Sutherland had separated from his partner at the time and was at a low ebb and feeling depressed and drinking more than he should have. The solicitor added: “In normal circumstances there is no way he would have got involved in any violence.”
Sheriff Wilson, who saw a background report, said he would have been justified in imposed a custodial sentence “on such a serious matter” but would regard the incident as “a one-off” and took into account the accused’s lack of previous convictions.
Sutherland was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work to be completed within a year.
The sheriff, who also saw a medical report on Mr Morrison’s injury, said he didn’t consider that making the accused subject to a compensation order would be appropriate.
